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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:43  
clear_day Transit: 12:58  
SunsetSet: 21:12 south
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 7 Iris

Altitude: -6.8°   Azimuth: 252.7°   Direction: West-South-West

7 Iris is a large main-belt asteroid located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It orbits the Sun once every 3.68 Earth years. It was discovered on August 13, 1847 by John Russell Hind and is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow. Iris has a diameter of approximately 200 kilometers and is irregularly shaped, with a rotation period of about 7.1 hours. In 2007, the European Space Agency launched the Rosetta spacecraft, which passed within 5 million kilometers of Iris and obtained detailed measurements of its surface. These observations, together with ground-based radar observations, revealed that Iris has a highly elongated shape and provided important insights into its rotational dynamics. The study of Iris and its family of asteroids has provided important insights into the formation and evolution of the asteroid belt and the early solar system.

Asteroid 7 Iris is currently in the constellation of Virgo. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 7 Iris is 13h 53m 54s and the Declination is -16° 03’ 50” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 7 Iris is 10.44 (JPL).

13h 53m 54s
-16° 03’ 50”
Virgo
10.44

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 7 Iris from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 106.0°
Max altitude: 22.5°
Azimuth: 253.9°
  • 7 Iris is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 7 Iris is visible with the help of a binocular with a 60mm aperture, might require a small telescope.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Available Resources

Asteroid 7 Iris Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 7 Iris finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of 7 Iris in Virgo on June,10 2023
Map showing Asteroid 7 Iris in Virgo on June, 10 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 7 Iris
Map showing Asteroid 7 Iris in Virgo on June, 10 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 7 Iris is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

7 Iris
RA: 13h 53m 54s
Dec: -16° 03’ 50”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 7 Iris
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 7 Iris?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 7 Iris in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 7 Iris Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 7 Iris from Earth is currently 320,700,930 kilometers, equivalent to 2.143753 Astronomical Units. Light takes 17 minutes and 49.7432 seconds to travel from Asteroid 7 Iris and arrive to us.

320,700,930
2.143753
17 minutes and 49.7432 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 7 Iris from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 7 Iris from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 7 Iris from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 7 Iris to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 7 Iris to Earth happens on Sat Nov 8 1947 at a distance of 0.846460 Astronomical Units, or 126,628,540 kilometers:

Sat Nov 8 1947
126,628,540
0.846460

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 7 Iris Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 7 Iris, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 7 Iris as a function of time

Asteroid 7 Iris Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 7 Iris at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.22965976
Orbit inclination i 5.51780097°
Perihelion distance q 1.83876388 AU
275,075,162 km
Aphelion distance Q 2.93513675 AU
439,090,209 km
Semi-major axis a 2.38695031 AU
357,082,685 km
Orbital period period 3.6879 years
1,346.9873 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2021-Jul-26 23:47:00
2,459,422.4910 JD
Next perihelion transit 2025-Apr-03 23:28
2,460,769.4783 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 145.41271894919°
Longitude of the ascending node node 259.50440351462°
Mean anomaly M 154.48048287592°
Mean motion n 0.26726310°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 7 Iris Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 7 Iris with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 7 Iris and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Asteroid 7 Iris Physical Data

The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 7 Iris. Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Physical Parameter Value Relative to Earth
Diameter 199.83 km 0.0157
Sideral Rotation 7.1390 hours 0.2983
Absolute Magnitude 5.51
Geometric Albedo 0.2766

Asteroid 7 Iris 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 7 Iris computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 7 Iris in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Jun 03 13h 56m 30s -16° 34’ 59” 10.30 Virgo
2023 Jun 04 13h 56m 04s -16° 30’ 14” 10.32 Virgo
2023 Jun 05 13h 55m 40s -16° 25’ 35” 10.34 Virgo
2023 Jun 06 13h 55m 15s -16° 21’ 03” 10.36 Virgo
2023 Jun 07 13h 54m 53s -16° 16’ 38” 10.38 Virgo
2023 Jun 08 13h 54m 33s -16° 12’ 20” 10.40 Virgo
2023 Jun 09 13h 54m 14s -16° 08’ 11” 10.42 Virgo
2023 Jun 10 13h 53m 56s -16° 04’ 08” 10.44 Virgo
2023 Jun 11 13h 53m 39s -16° 00’ 12” 10.46 Virgo
2023 Jun 12 13h 53m 25s -15° 56’ 26” 10.48 Virgo
2023 Jun 13 13h 53m 11s -15° 52’ 45” 10.50 Virgo
2023 Jun 14 13h 52m 59s -15° 49’ 14” 10.52 Virgo
2023 Jun 15 13h 52m 48s -15° 45’ 50” 10.53 Virgo
2023 Jun 16 13h 52m 38s -15° 42’ 33” 10.55 Virgo